Page 65 of A Major Love

Her therapist was right. We couldn’t change what we’d done, but we could learn and grow from it.

“What did you name him?” I asked after a few minutes of silence.

“Love Major Lloyd, and Major, he was so perfect.”

“Do you have pictures?”

“In my safe. Do you want to see them?”

I did want to see them, but I was hesitant to respond. My stomach was in knots, and I wasn’t sure I could look at pictures of the deceased son I didn’t know existed. When I didn’t respond, Dynastie tilted her head to look up at me.

“We don’t have to do it now. I know you’re still processing, so let me know when you’re ready.”

I nodded, relieved that she understood, but disappointed in myself for showing weakness.

“Did you—ahem—did you have a . . . a funeral?”

“It was small, just my parents, brother, and both sets of my grandparents. Saying goodbye to him was the hardest thing I’ve ever done because I never got a chance to say hello.”

I’d held back my tears for as long as I could, but the dam had finally broken. I should’ve been consoling Dynastie, but instead, it was the other way around. I was very in tune with my emotions and not afraid to cry, but it had been several years since I’d cried like this.

Eventually, my tears summoned hers, and for the first time since I dropped her off at the airport to start her journey in Onyx City, we cried together. Later that day, she took me to my son’s gravesite, and I broke down again.

We stayed there for hours, crying, reminiscing, laughing, apologizing, and strengthening our bond. It was hard to leave, but when we finally did, I was more confident than ever that we’d be just fine.

It had been two months since the fiasco with Dontrell. I still couldn’t believe he’d gone to those lengths just to get back at me, as if I’d beaten him to a pulp for no reason. One had to be a special kind of crazy to hold a grudge against and seek revenge on someone for protecting their loved one.

Dontrell was arrested, and because he made a copy of the key to Dynastie’s condo without permission, he was ultimately charged with breaking and entering, criminal trespass, possession of burglary tools, and vandalism for the damage he’d caused. He was also charged with stalking because, unbeknownst to her, he had placed a tracking device in her backpack, among other things that were discovered later.

Once again, I messed up Dontrell’s face pretty badly, but the arresting officers were huge fans of mine and didn’t arrest me. By the time the story hit the news outlets, it was a case of self-defense, and I wasn’t held liable. Thankfully, that was one of those instances when being a celebrity paid off.

The attorneys I’d hired for Dynastie obtained search warrants for Dontrell’s residence, his office at the real estate company where he worked, and all his technology. He had files with information about Dynastie and me that dated back several years.

When we found out about the files, Dynastie became physically ill and shut everyone out for a little over a week. Theonly person she talked to during that time was her therapist, and I was grateful she was willing to talk to her.

My parents were heartbroken when I told them about their grandson, and for a couple of weeks, there was some tension between them and Mr. and Mrs. Love. My parents were hurt that the Loves didn’t tell them, but after an emotional conversation, my parents understood their position.

I’d already gone back to Onyx City a few times to visit my son, and my parents and sister had gone with me once. It was hard having him buried so far away, and I contemplated having him moved, but something about that didn’t sit well with me, so I let him continue to rest in peace where he was.

Dynastie and I still hadn’t discussed the ordeal in great detail. Between getting her condo ready to sell, moving her back to Illinois, my training, writing the memoir, and filming the documentary, it was easy to avoid the conversation.

However, we couldn’t avoid it any longer. I started therapy with Dr. Simone about six weeks ago, and she thought it would be a good idea for Dynastie and me to have the conversation we’d been avoiding in a joint session. Today was the day.

I’d connected my laptop to our 85-inch TV in the family room and logged into the video conferencing app. Our session didn’t start for about five minutes, so once everything was connected, I went to find Dynastie.

“You ready?” I asked when I found her in what used to be the second guest room but was now her office.

“Is it time?”

“Almost. What are you doing?”

“Looking through the pictures your mother gave me for the memoir. You’ll have to narrow these down for me.”

“I can tell you right now, you can forget about using this one, this one, and this one.”

She laughed and snatched the pictures I’d picked up from my hand.

“Of course, you pick the cutest ones.”